


Halloween Town

by kiebs



Series: Soumako Week 2015 [6]
Category: Free!
Genre: Halloween, Humor, M/M, Sousuke is an uncle and he is so done, mild Halloween Town au, mild monster au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 02:11:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5029681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiebs/pseuds/kiebs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Okay, where the hell is this bus going?" Sousuke finally snapped.<br/>Tachibana winced at his tone, but cleared his throat. His answer, however, wasn't very helpful.<br/>"Our, uh, hometown."<br/>"And what town is that exactly?"<br/>"Halloween Town, of course."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Halloween Town

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm technically a few days late, but this is for day 6 of Soumako Week! I miiight have marathoned K Project with my friends instead of finishing this Friday, but it's all done now and I hope you enjoy it! :3

When Sousuke had set out that night, begrudgingly taking his nephew (that is, Rin's son) out trick-or-treating, he had not expected his nephew to run excitedly towards a tall man in a green hoodie. He further didn't expect to watch said man bend down and produce a giant lollipop with the twist of his wrist and a suspicious pop of sparkles. He especially didn't expect, upon running over to apologize, to find the three of them whisked onto what he could only call a giant pumpkin in the shape of the bus by an excited blond boy with fuzzy dog ears and a wagging tail. Seeing the plethora of (what he hoped were) costumed people on the bus was the last straw, but by then the doors had closed and Dog Boy had them all seated together.

Sousuke rubbed his forehead, all the while keeping a firm grip on Tora's hand. His nephew was talking excitedly to Hoodie Man, waving around the suspicious lollipop like it was a baton. At least he seemed okay with everything. Sousuke felt like he was going crazy.

"Uncle Sou, are you okay?"

He glanced down at the voice, finding Tora peering worriedly up at him. It was always striking just how similar the little boy looked like Rin. There was very little of his mother in his features, though that would probably change the older he got.

"I'm just worried that we won't get back to your house before curfew," Sousuke said, smiling at Tora. He didn't want to scare the boy by telling him he didn't trust anyone on the bus. Or know where the bus was going. "Your mom can be preeetty scary."

Tora's eyes widened and he covered his mouth in horror. Sousuke would feel bad, as his nephew really was just excited for Halloween, but Katsumi had a quiet kind of anger that was totally different than the explosiveness of Rin's rage. He would much rather not get on her bad side.

Tora whipped around to Hoodie Man, tugging urgently at his sleeve. His devil horns became askew as he turned, though he didn't really seem to care with how single-minded his focus was on the mysterious man.

"Mako-sensei, Mako-sensei!" he cried, almost bouncing to get the man's attention.

Sousuke frowned, wondering how Tora knew the man for the second time tonight and why he was calling him "sensei". Was Hoodie Man a teacher from school?

"Ah, Tora-chan, what's wrong?" Mako-sensei asked, fixing the horns on the little boy's head.

"Will we be back before ten? Mom's going to freak if we aren't!" Tora cried.

Before Mako-sensei could respond, Dog Boy leaned around him with a wide grin. Sousuke didn't trust it, especially with the way his eyes were glittering.

"But all the fun happens after ten!" Dog Boy exclaimed, reaching out and poking Tora's forehead. "You sure you wanna leave then?"

"He's _five_ ," Sousuke growled, glaring at Dog Boy. He didn't like the other male touching his nephew. "Keep your hands to yourself, puppy."

"Uwah! How scary!" Dog Boy cried, hiding behind Mako-sensei. "Mako-chan save me!"

"You were and are being rude, Nagisa," Mako-sensei chided with a stern frown. He turned a gentle smile to Tora, though, inclining his head towards him. "I can get you back around ten. I shouldn't have allowed Nagisa to herd you onto the bus anyway."

"I should write you up for attempted kidnapping," Sousuke commented, almost wishing he had the night shift tonight to do just that. Alas, he was off duty so the best he could do was a citizen's arrest. Even that would be hard since he didn't have his handcuffs.

Mako-sensei's face paled and even Dog Boy (Nagisa? What was with these girly names?) looked cowed. It seemed the consequences of their actions were _finally_ sinking in.

"No, no, Uncle Sou!" Tora cried, twisting to latch onto his arm. He even stood up, eliciting a worried noise from both Sousuke and Mako-sensei, to wrap his arms around the police officer's bicep. "You can't arrest Mako-sensei!"

"And why not?" Sousuke knew why not, but it was amusing how Tora puffed up his cheeks in thought.

"Because...Because Mako-sensei has work on Monday!" he finally declared and Sousuke didn't even try to hide his snort.

"That's your reasoning?" he asked, chuckling.

"Uncle Souuu!"

"Don't worry, don't worry. I don't have my handcuffs," Sousuke finally said, grinning at Tora's pout. He shifted his gaze to the two mystery males and let his grin turn a little vicious. "Though, I can't be responsible if I tell your dad that two mysterious men whisked you away to who knows where."

Mako-sensei seemed to catch on first, straightening at the look on Sousuke's face. He brushed the hood he was wearing back, revealing a handsome face illuminated by the dim lights of the bus. Hair that might be brown flopped into his face and silver stud earrings glittered in his ears. It was his eyes, though that really caught Sousuke's attention, as they were a vivid green that didn't seem human. They seemed to glow, though if that were his imagination, he would never know.

Mako-sensei held out his hand and Sousuke caught sight of an orange wristwatch just under the sleeve of his shirt. He raised an eyebrow at the combination of orange and green attire, but didn't comment, instead taking the offered hand. The other man had a strong grip and Sousuke was surprised to realize that their hands were the same size. That was rare.

"I'm Tachibana Makoto," Mako-sensei said, giving him a kind smile. "I'm a swim instructor at Iwatobi Swim Club."

"Ah, you're Tora's coach," Sousuke said, now realizing that he had heard Tora say "Mako-sensei" before. He had always thought it was a woman, though. "I'm Yamazaki Sousuke. A police officer."

He could have sworn he saw Tachibana's cheeks turn red, but Dog Boy was jumping onto his shoulder and holding out his own hand. Something swished behind him.

"Nice to meet you, Sou-chan! I'm Hazuki Nagisa!" he said brightly. Sousuke took his hand with a confused frown. Sou-chan? "I'm an inugami!"

"Nagisa!" Tachibana scolded.

Sousuke's frown only deepened, at least for a second before he realized that the swishing thing behind was a _tail_. His tail. His fluffy tawny colored tail that protruded between his magenta coat and jeans.

Sousuke's hand went slack before he cleared his throat. "Uh...nice...tail...?"

He winced, but Hazuki's eyes sparkled and he grinned widely. He leaned more over Tachibana, practically lying in his lap.

"Isn't it _cute_? I take great care of it, you know! So that it's always cute and fluffy!" he gushed and his ears twitched forward, perked straight up.

"Is it _real_?" Tora asked in awe.

"Well, yeah, silly!" Hazuki laughed. "It's part of me!"

"Part of...?" Sousuke muttered at the same time his nephew squealed, "Really!? You're a _real_ inugami?"

"Yes, I am!"

"Na-gi-sa~!" Tachibana whined, grabbing the back of Hazuki's coat and pulling him off him. "You're not supposed to tell non-magicals that!"

"Ehhh, but Mako-chan! They were with you!" Hazuki cried.

"Because Tora-chan came up to say hi!"

The blond boy covered his mouth, his eyes wide. "Oops."

Tachibana frowned. "Oops indeed."

Sousuke furrowed his eyebrows, looking between the two of them. He suddenly felt even less comfortable than he did a minute ago. Not that he was that comfortable before, but now he felt like there was a greater chance that he might not actually see Rin or Katsumi or anyone again.

God, Rin and Katsumi were going to kill him because he really doubted they were getting back before ten. (And even if he and Tora were on their way to their deaths, Tora's parents would reanimate at least Sousuke to kill again.) He scowled.

"Okay, where the hell is this bus going?" he finally snapped.

Tachibana winced at his tone, but cleared his throat. His answer, however, wasn't very helpful.

"Our, uh, hometown," he said, scratching his cheek. He tried for an easy-going smile, but Sousuke was having none of that.

"And what town is that exactly?" he growled, moving his left arm onto the back of bus seat so that he could pull Tora close to him if needed.

Tachibana shifted, his eyes dropping down. He bit his lip, drawing Sousuke's attention to them for a moment, before the dark-haired man was glaring down the other man. Tachibana's lack of response was not improving his mood and Tora's nervous glancing back and forth only made him feel guilty. He had promised Rin, however, that he could take care of his son and he wasn't going to go back on his word.

Getting on a bus to who knows where with Tora's swim coach and some weirdo with a tail was not doing his promise any justice. It wasn't doing Sousuke any justice because he already knew he was shit with directions so if they became hopelessly lost, there was no way he was getting his nephew back to Iwatobi before ten.

"Halloween Town, of course," a new voice said and Sousuke literally jumped at the giant blue face that appeared in front of Tachibana.

He had seen something like it before in an old book of folktales his grandmother had when he was kid. The blue face, wild black hair, and great-tusked mouth all fell into place with an oni, especially when he realized the single horn growing out of the crest of its head. It took him a moment to realize the voice had a strange feminine quality to its gravelly texture.

Realizing he was staring, Sousuke ripped his eyes away and stared wide-eyed at Tachibana, who was smiling good-naturedly at the oni. It was a ridiculous sight, seeing someone who looked very much human talking to something Sousuke had only seen on TV or in books as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Ah, Hanae-san, good evening," Tachibana greeted cheerfully. "It's my friend's first time visiting, so he's not used to seeing so many yokai in one place."

"Ehh, a city boy, huh?" Hanae, apparently, said, huffing. She wheezed, which took Sousuke a moment to realize was her laughing. "He's in for a treat then!"

"That he is," Tachibana agreed, still smiling. "It was going to be a surprise, though, but he got a little angry with me for that."

"With _you_ , Tachibana-kun?" Hanae wheezed again. "More likely with Hazuki-kun!"

"Hey!" Hazuki bristled, but Tachibana slapped a hand over his mouth.

"You could be right, Hanae-san," he said brightly.

The exchange entranced Sousuke, mostly just because of the extreme difference in appearance between the two. There was also the conversation itself, which was so similar to his own polite conversations with neighbors, and it was blowing his mind. Apparently, yokai too just talked about everyday life.

It was...weird.

Small hands pressed against his shoulder. Sousuke tilted his head towards Tora accordingly, eyes never leaving the conversation in front of him.

"Uncle Sou, is that...is that an _oni_?" Tora whispered reverently.

Sousuke wondered why he sounded so excited and decided he was going to have to talk to Rin about what Tora read and watched. He shrugged his shoulders, making the little boy giggle.

"Looks like it," he responded.

"Wow," his nephew murmured, flopping down next to him. "An oni..."

Sousuke decided not to comment on Tora's awe, instead concluding that this was all a weird ass dream. He had just fallen asleep at Rin's place after work and Tora was watching some weird cartoon and this was all just his subconscious using images that he could hear and not actually process now. That made sense because otherwise Sousuke wasn't sure what exactly he was going to do with this new information.

The bus drew to a sudden stop, the passengers sliding and tilting across the seats and floor. Sousuke dug his heel down and used his hand on the back of the seats to ground himself, tilting sharply back into the man behind him. Tora slid into him with a puff of air, shrieking when Tachibana lurched in their direction.

He caught himself, though, by grabbing the seat in a similar way to Sousuke. Still, he was very close to them and Sousuke surprised himself by the half-wish that Tora hadn't been between them. The dark-haired man felt his mouth turn down, but caught himself before his expression could go into a sulk. He didn't want to worry Tachibana, as the other man was giving them a sheepish smile and righting himself.

The other passengers started filtering off the bus as Sousuke fixed his posture. He apologized to the man behind him, who turned out to be what he could only call an ogre with dark mottled yellow-brown skin and tusks protruding from his lower lip. The ogre grunted dismissively as he left and Sousuke only just stopped himself from rubbing his face.

It was a dream. It had to be. He really hoped it was.

When it became clear that they were the last passengers, Sousuke stood reluctantly with an eager Tora clutching his hand. He pressed his lips into a tight line as Hazuki beckoned them off the bus, his fluffy tail wagging quickly the whole while. It didn't help that he could practically feel Tachibana behind him, which made him tense as he and his nephew stepped off the bus.

His mouth dropped open at the sight before him.

The town itself was something out of a cartoon or something. The buildings looked old, but more in a Western architecture than a Japanese one. Not that there weren't obvious Japanese storefronts and houses strewn about, but a majority of the architecture was Western.

Most of the buildings were dark colors, like navies and purples, and black metal decorations holding signs. Spindly black fences lined some of the building fronts where small gardens of witchy looking plants grew, things that looked somewhat gnarled and dead. There were tall lampposts all over place, lining the streets and main square that they stood in. The gothic looking posts cast yellow light onto their surroundings, making everything seem darker and more sallow than they actually were.

The most striking, however, was the giant jack-o'-lantern carving right in the middle of the square. A fire glowed from inside the statue, adding to the eerie quality of that the lampposts were giving the town and making the statue seem like demon from hell. A great ornate sign stood in front of it, proudly displaying "Halloween Town" to all visitors in rather flourishing writing. Smaller jack-o'-lanterns, no doubt put there by residents, decorated the base of the sign. 

"Welcome to Halloween Town!" Hazuki exclaimed brightly.

Sousuke really didn't need this right now. He especially didn't need the excitement that Hazuki was instilling into his nephew by squatting down and talk to him a mile a minute about all things that the town apparently had. Sousuke at narrowed his eyes at him.

"Okay. Now how do we get _back_?" he snapped.

Hazuki blinked up at him, his ears drooping. "Um..."

"The bus won't be back for at least an hour," Tachibana spoke up and Sousuke couldn't help bristling at the hand that fell onto his shoulder.

The dark-haired man turned his glare onto him, surprised to find that his gaze met those weirdly green eyes about even. He still looked down just a bit, but Tachibana was much taller than he realized, about the same height as him. It was...kind of pleasant, actually.

Sousuke frowned at the thought, letting that confusion mix with the annoyance already in his expression to stare down the swim instructor. Tachibana barely batted an eye, though he did grimace a little the longer Sousuke stared and didn't speak.

"Uncle Sou! Don't glare at Mako-sensei!" Tora cried, tugging on Sousuke's hand and practically hanging from his arm. "Uncle Sou, let's have funnn!"

"We have to get you home, Toraichi," Sousuke argued, tearing his eyes away from Tachibana to look down at his nephew.

Tora pouted up at him, his eyes starting to water. Sousuke winced. If there was anything he couldn't stand, it was tears. Which was a wonder considering who his best friend was, but Sousuke had no defense against tears. He wondered when Tora discovered this weakness.

"But...But Uncle Souuu!" Tora whined, sniffling.

Sousuke gritted his teeth. "To—."

"Let's have some fun, Tora-chan!" Hazuki suddenly cried and the next thing Sousuke knew there was a giant Pomeranian standing in front of them.

He was frozen for as long as it took Tora to dash to the side of the dog before Sousuke was lunging forward to grab his nephew. However, the little boy had already scrambled onto the Pomeranian's back and then the two were gone with a great bounce.

Sousuke gaped, not believing that a giant dog had whisked his nephew away. It wasn't like there was evidence to prove that fact other than _his nephew actually missing_. His teeth clacked together as he snapped his mouth shut, growling lowly. Sousuke wasn't an angry person, not really. Sure, he got annoyed a lot and frustrated, but he was never actually angry. Except when it came to Rin, of course, but he wouldn't call himself an outright angry person.

His blood was boiling in that moment.

"What…the _fuck_ …was _that_?" he snarled, whipping around to face Tachibana.

The other man flinched, taking a step back, and Sousuke felt a flash of guilt. Admittedly, it wasn't the swim instructor's fault. Sousuke and Tora wouldn't have even been on the bus if it wasn't for Hazuki and now the crazy fur ball had spirited his nephew away to who knows where. He balled his hands into fists and tried to take a couple soothing breaths. Getting into someone's face wasn't going to help anything. He was acting out of fear and he had dealt with enough hysterical mothers to know that fear didn't help anything.

A cautious hand touched his shoulder and Sousuke blinked into those glowing eyes. God, Tachibana really needed to stop getting into his face because he was really attractive and Sousuke would not be held responsible if he accidentally kissed him. The dark-haired man sighed heavily, squeezing his eyes shut. He needed to get out of this crazy ass town. It was affecting his thought process.

"It'll be okay, Yamazaki-san," Tachibana said and his hand left his shoulder.

Sousuke blinked open his eyes to see the swim instructor pull something of his pocket. It was small and thin, almost like a pen, but he couldn't really see it clearly. He wondered, for a moment, if it was some kind of weird cellphone until Tachibana let whatever it was roll off his palm. Sousuke watched the descent of the object, strangely entranced, and gaped when the object froze mid-fall and expanded.

"I need a drink," Sousuke grumbled, covering his eyes, because the thing that Tachibana had pulled out of his pocket was a _broomstick_ with what looked like _seats_ on the handle.

Actually, the seats almost looked like the seats on his motorcycle, but the police officer was dealing with enough already to find that coincidence interesting. Now all he wanted to do was go home with Tora and have a nice glass of something strong and very alcoholic. Maybe then he could chase this night away with that. (A tiny part of him didn't want to forget the glowing green eyes of Tachibana, but he viciously squashed that part down.)

Lowering his hand to his mouth, Sousuke stared at Tachibana with furrowed eyebrows. The other man just stared back, a tiny smile on his face as he gestured to the broomstick. The taller man didn't understand quite what that gesture meant and frowned deeper.

Tachibana sighed.

"I'm a warlock," he finally said, hands on his hips. "This is a two-person broomstick and it can carry more than five hundred pounds. This'll be faster than walking."

Sousuke didn't know if he should laugh or find the closest liquor store and buy all the hard alcohol. Maybe he was already drunk and this was just a really vivid dream.

"Is that even going to be comfortable?" was his only response after a long moment of just staring at the hovering cleaning supply.

Tachibana huffed and rolled his eyes, snapping his fingers. What looked like kickstands popped up under the seats on the broomstick. Sousuke pressed his lips into a thin line at the sight, glancing up between the vehicle(?) and its owner. He was somewhat surprised how judgmental the stare that Tachibana gave him was. After all, the warlock had a soft and gentle looking face so that expression seemed almost comical.

"You said you need to get Tora-chan back by ten, right?" Tachibana said, pulling up his sleeve and looking at his watch. "It's 8:30 right now. The bus will be back by 9:40 at the latest and it's a ten-minute ride between dimensions. It shouldn't take us too long to find Nagisa. He's hard not to notice."

Sousuke watched as the swim instructor got onto the broomstick. It should look awkward because it was a broomstick and Tachibana was hardly a small guy, but it looked strangely natural. He supposed that Tachibana probably had been doing that since he was a child. Still, it didn't exactly sit well with Sousuke about flying around on a broomstick because that was cliché as hell. At least Tachibana didn't had a pointy hat, just a dark green hoodie and jeans with orange sneakers. Nevertheless, a broomstick on Halloween night? So cliché.

"Look—," Sousuke began, but Tachibana cut him off with an exasperated, "Yamazaki-san!"

"All right, all right! _Fine_!" he grumbled, grudgingly and awkwardly sitting behind Tachibana on the broomstick. It was so damn awkward. "There. Happy?"

"Hold onto me," Tachibana instructed, looking over his shoulder. Sousuke would have sworn he was blushing. "You don't want to fall, right?"

"Uh, like…around the waist 'hold onto' or the shoulders…?"

"Just hug me already."

It was a command, low and authoritative, and Sousuke raised an eyebrow. Another instance that seemed out of character for the kind man. Nevertheless, he did as told, wrapping his arms around Tachibana and pressing his chest to his back. There was the faintest of gasps from the warlock, but Sousuke didn't have time to think of a teasing remark because the next moment they were rocketing into the sky. He cursed, tightening his hold on the other man, and all but buried his nose in the hood of his sweatshirt. He had never been bad at flying, though he always hated takeoff, but there was something about being on a fucking broomstick that just made him realize that his life was in the hands of some guy that he barely knew. This was all kinds of stupid and Rin better fucking be grateful for the lengths Sousuke was going through.

Sousuke didn't dare try to open his eyes until it felt like they had evened out. Even then, he was cautious to open his eyes, wincing on eye open before he was blinking at the sight in front of him. The town stretched out for a while, glittering with glowing orange fires and lamps all over its darkened streets. Yellow and white windows shone everywhere. Other colored lights sparkled and glittered here and there, creating a magical scene that was so different from the nighttime cityscapes and landscapes that Sousuke was used to. It really shouldn't be different because fundamentally it was the same as Tokyo or Tottori at night and yet the strange quality to the lights, like they were alive, just gave Halloween Town an ethereal feel. There would be a bloom of green in one part of town, then red in another, or blue or purple or pink, and then there were be many colors dancing down a street before it disappeared and more colors flashed elsewhere.

Even in the air, he could hear the music from multiple parties echoing through the town. As a police officer, he was worried about noise ordinates, but there was something about the music that didn't really register it as "noise". It was like it had all merged together, even though he could clearly hear jazz music and what sounded like something vaguely enka along with rock and the stereotypical Halloween spooky jingle. It all met together and created something strangely pleasing, something that tingled up his arms and raised the hairs on his neck. The music was spooky and fun and calming and pulse racing all at the same time. Now that he thought about it, maybe the living lights were dancing to the town's music and it wasn't actually random. With how crazy this night was going, he really wouldn't be surprised.

The broomstick dipped for a moment, pushing Sousuke's stomach down, but then they were level again and going much faster than before. Sousuke tightened his grip on Tachibana, suddenly and thoroughly broken from the town's spell, but he still found himself marveling at random sights that sped past them. Like the gargoyle stretching itself out on a roof of one building or the group of bakeneko dancing in a small garden or the pretty girls calling out to Tachibana as they flew past. Sousuke rose an eyebrow at that one, but they were gone too fast for him to even really register a full thought on it. Not that he really cared too much about whether or not Tachibana was popular with girls or not. Because it wasn't a pretty girl with her arms around the warlock's waist, but him and he was not going to let that thought go any further because god damn it, Sousuke, you literally just met the man.

Not that he really got time to dwell on the thought because then they were flying next to a very familiar dog jumping from roof to roof. Sousuke could hear the high-pitched laughing over the wind and he twisted his head to glare at the giant Pomeranian.

"Nagisa!" Tachibana shouted. "Nagisa, stop!"

"Tora!" Sousuke roared, leaning as much as he could without tipping them over.

He barely caught the small "Uncle Sou!" before Hazuki was jumping to another set of rooftops. He clicked his tongue, fingers tightening on the material of Tachibana's sweatshirt as they sped after the inugami.

"Oho? What's this, Makoto?"

The airy voice was literally right next to them and Sousuke whipped around to find a great pink fox leisurely running next to them _on air_. Its purple eyes widened a bit and a big grin formed on its face. Sousuke didn't even know that foxes could smile, but then again, even he wasn't stupid enough not to realize what the creature was.

Dread filled him as he murmured, "A kitsune?"

"Ah, Kisumi!" Tachibana called and Sousuke whipped back around because did Tachibana just say "kiss me"? "Can you help me?"

"Eh! _Makoto_ is asking _me_ for help?" the kitsune cried, bouncing so that it was running above them and upside down. It lowered (raised?) its head to stare at Tachibana with glittering eyes. "I'm honored!"

"I'll have Ran make you mochi cakes later!" the warlock shouted, though Sousuke could hear a smile in his voice. "Nagisa kind of kidnapped Yamazaki-san's child and we need to get him back!"

"He's my nephew," Sousuke mumbled, feeling odd about Tora being called his child.

"Ehhh. Why would Nagi-chan steal a child?" the kistune asked, sounding confused. "Ah, well. I'll help. I can stop him."

The kitsune dashed off, sprinting forward way faster than their broomstick. It spiraled in the air, becoming right side up as it easily caught up to Hazuki. The inugami yelped, but couldn't do anything as the kitsune successfully cut him off. Hazuki skidded to a stop, sending shingles flying, and almost barreled over the kitsune, who turned into a man with fox ears and multiple tails and plucked Tora off his back.

Sousuke couldn't help tensing. All these strange men needed to stop touching his nephew. Tachibana directed the broomstick around to land behind Hazuki, hovering a few feet off the roof. If he weren’t afraid that he might break an ankle or worse, Sousuke would have jumped off the broomstick to claim his nephew. However, since he wasn't firmly on the ground, he could only glare down at the inugami and kitsune.

"Uncle Sou!" Tora called, waving from the kistune's arms.

"Hey, squirt," Sousuke called back, lifting his right hand in greeting. "You're grounded."

"What! You can't ground me!"

"Your mom can as soon as I tell her you ran away from me with a strange man," the police officer retorted, frowning. "You even ran away from your coach. That's double the trouble."

He found it kind of poetic that he said that on a broomstick. From Tachibana's horribly disguised snort, the warlock didn’t miss it. A grin threatened to show up on his lips, but Sousuke fought it back to keep a stern look on his face in the wake of Tora's horrified and teary expression.

"No! Uncle Sou, don't!" he cried. "I'll be good, I'll be good!"

"I hope so!" Tachibana exclaimed. "I know you're excited, Tora-chan, but you worried your uncle very much by running off like that. And, Nagisa! You should know better!"

"But Mako-chan!" Hazuki whined, jumping around to butt his giant furry head against Tachibana's leg. He moved the whole broomstick, eliciting a small "whoa" from Sousuke. "I just wanted to have funnn!"

"Do I have to tell Rei about this?"

Hazuki's head whipped up and his big magenta eyes widened. "No! Don't tell Rei-chan! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Mako-chan, Sou-chan!"

"Again with the Sou-chan," Sousuke muttered before clearing his throat. "You better be. Good thing I'm just a cop and not animal control."

"I'd like to see animal control try and wrangle Nagi-chan," the kitsune cackled with a grin.

"How mean, Ki-chan!"

"All right, all right," Tachibana said with a laugh. "We need to get Yamazaki-san and Tora-chan back to the Great Pumpkin so they can catch the bus when it comes back."

Hazuki and Tora both whined, but reluctantly followed when Tachibana steered the broomstick around. The kitsune carried Tora this time, leisurely following the broomstick as if it wasn't going at least twenty miles an hour. Tora didn't seem nearly as thrilled with his return trip to the pumpkin statue, at least not until he realized how fast they actually were going. Then he was just amazed, glancing between the kitsune's face and Sousuke. Sousuke tried not to feel jealous at his nephew's obvious awe with the nonhuman men.

They reached the Great Pumpkin (which was the giant jack-o'-lantern statue apparently) just a few minutes before nine. Sousuke hadn't realized just how much time had actually passed until he checked his phone to see how long they had to wait for the bus. It wasn't as long as he thought, but it was still long enough for Tora to get into some kind of trouble again. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.

There was a gentle touch to his shoulder again and Sousuke tilted his head to acknowledge Tachibana. He offered the warlock a small smile and got a warm blush in return. How cute.

"There will be fireworks at nine," Tachibana said, dropping his hand to stuff them into his hoodie's pockets. He rocked back on his heels. "They should end before the bus comes, but just in case—."

A whistling noise cut him off and an explosion of orange and green lit up the square. Tachibana jumped, hands shooting out of his pockets to grab Sousuke's arm. Sousuke raised his eyebrow, but couldn't comment as another firework exploded in the sky. Instead, he just chuckled softly and patted the trembling hands gripping his bicep. The trembling stopped almost immediately, but the hands remained on his arm and Sousuke found that he really didn't mind that. Especially when Tachibana gave him a shy smile before he lifted his eyes to watch the fireworks.

Sousuke found himself more watching Tachibana's expression than the actual fireworks, though he did catch a couple that actually moved and changed shape. Otherwise, his eyes were glued to the warlock's face. The wonderment in those glowing eyes was precious and innocent, so different from the commanding tone he had used earlier. It made Sousuke want to know all about him, to know every expression that crossed that beautiful face. What did Tachibana look like when he ate his favorite foods? When he watched his favorite shows? When he ate something sour? What did he look like when he was teaching? Or when he home alone? Or among his friends? What would he look like if Sousuke kissed him?

The fireworks were over way too soon and the bus arrived nearly as soon as the last ember was falling from the sky.

Tora whined and yawned as Sousuke picked him up.

"C'mon, squirt," he said with a small smile. "Let's go."

"Dun' wanna," his nephew mumbled, but the little boy wrapped his arms around his neck anyway.

Sousuke glanced at Tachibana and the other two. Tachibana had a small smile of his own, but Hazuki's ears were down and he looked upset. The kitsune (whose name was apparently Kisumi) just grinned.

He shifted to hold Tora better. A grin tugged up his lips as he said, "Maybe we'll come back another time?"

His nephew jumped and pulled back to stare at him. " _Really_?"

"Only if your parents say yes," Sousuke responded before his eyes drifted to Tachibana. "And if Coach Tachibana doesn't mind showing us around."

Tachibana looked surprised before a breathtaking grin bloomed on his face. Sousuke literally felt his heart skip a beat at the sight and he swallowed thickly. He could totally get used to seeing that smiling face.

"I would love to," Tachibana said warmly before pressing something into Sousuke's free hand. "Well, get back safely, Yamazaki-san."

"Thanks," Sousuke responded, clenching his hand around what was definitely a small piece of paper. Had he just gotten Tachibana's number? "See you."

"Bye-bye, Tora-chan. See you at swim club," Tachibana chirped, waving.

Tora waved back, albeit sleepily. "I'll bring Uncle Sou next time!"

The warlock laughed. "I'll look forward to it."

Sousuke found himself looking forward to it too.


End file.
